NGOs insist large Sliema garden should be protected
Six environmental NGOs - Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, BirdLife Malta, Friends of the Earth (Malta), Greenhouse, NatureTrust Malta and the Ramblers Association - insisted today that the proposed development of Villa Bonici in Sliema violates a number...
Six environmental NGOs - Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, BirdLife Malta, Friends of the Earth (Malta), Greenhouse, NatureTrust Malta and the Ramblers Association - insisted today that the proposed development of Villa Bonici in Sliema violates a number of MEPA policies and therefore should be rejected.
The proposed development in Manwel Dimech Street in Sliema will include the construction of a residential complex of up to 23 blocks, some as high as 12 floors. The development goes down almost to The Strand.
The NGOs said that besides the impact on the heritage building, on the trees which are more than 50 years old, and on the many wild birds and other species that use this green oasis, they were also concerned about the increased air pollution.
"The addition of hundreds of flats and cars in an area which is already registering air pollution readings well in excess of EU thresholds is bound to aggravate health problems, as research has shown that vehicle emissions contribute to lung, heart and cancer problems."
The NGOs noted that in terms of the ratified 2006 Local Plan the gardens of Villa Bonici were excluded from the Urban Conservation Area.
This change, they said, was "highly irregular" as it was effected without any public consultation, in contravention of the Development Planning Act and the Aarhus Convention.
The NGOs therefore insisted that urban conservation conditions still applied, including the requirement to conserve buildings and gardens of architectural, historical, and townscape importance.
Since Sliema was described in the local plan as an over-populated region “suffering from a lack of recreational space, infiltration of traffic, noise and other effects resulting from tourism development, commercial intensification and high housing densities," this large area deserved to be protected.
Furthermore, Sliema’s road network, water and electricity supply and sewers are already beyond their capability of supplying satisfactorily. More mega-projects will again make matters worse.